Image, "Metrosideros polymorpha" by Frank Schulenberg. Used with permission. Creative Commons 3.0
The Farm
The landing in Hilo was uneventful, always a nice way to end a flight. By the time we got our baggage and our rental car, it was early evening. We still had a 60-mile drive to meet our hosts for the next two days. We would be staying with friends of mine who had a farm on the south end of the Big Island near Naalehu. We left the airport and headed south down Route 11, the Hawaiian Belt Road.
The island seemed very different from the tropical paradise of Oahu. The land along the highway appeared barren, somewhat bushy and primitive. We drove past the Visitor Center for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Crater Rim Drive that leads to Kilauea, the most active volcano in the Hawaii chain. We drove through the mist and darkness descended.
Image is part of image “Chain of Craters Road”
© 2009 Jeremiah Blatz.
Used with permission.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/
Our host met us. We parked our car and got in his jeep. The road up the mountain was rugged. The farm was high above the ocean on 20 acres of rich fertile soil. The mountainside was lush having been formed eons ago from volcanic lava and ash. The various living quarters, kitchen, and so forth were in separate buildings.
Our lodging was a loft in the utility building, accessed by a ladder. At the top of the ladder was a small room with a queen-size mattress covering most of the floor. Each wall of the room was a large window. That evening we put our sleeping bags on the mattress and crawled into them to sleep. It was now over 20 hours since we had left St. Louis.
Sleeping in the loft on the second floor of the utility building was peaceful. The loft gave us the feeling we were sleeping out-of-doors. The four glassed sides offered a panoramic view. Late that night I lay in my sleeping bag and saw stars through the windows in all directions
Our lodging was a loft in the utility building, accessed by a ladder. At the top of the ladder was a small room with a queen-size mattress covering most of the floor. Each wall of the room was a large window. That evening we put our sleeping bags on the mattress and crawled into them to sleep. It was now over 20 hours since we had left St. Louis.
Sleeping in the loft on the second floor of the utility building was peaceful. The loft gave us the feeling we were sleeping out-of-doors. The four glassed sides offered a panoramic view. Late that night I lay in my sleeping bag and saw stars through the windows in all directions
We shared Wednesday and Thursday with this wonderful family. The vistas were picture postcards. Meals were simple yet glorious, prepared fresh from the garden, wonderful vegetable dishes and the most scrumptious and delectable green salads I have ever eaten. We drank fresh cow's milk and ginger tea. I admit these two days were probably the healthiest two days of eating in my life.
On Thursday our hosts took us to the Green Sand Beach via a bumpy ride on rutted dirt jeep trails. The Green Sand Beach is at the southern tip of the Big Island. It was otherworldly. The beach was inside an ancient volcanic cone with one side missing, through which the waters of the Pacific entered and washed the beach. The sand was green as was much of this three-sided volcanic cone. We enjoyed taking it all in. On Friday we would have to leave and prepare for our trek.
On Thursday our hosts took us to the Green Sand Beach via a bumpy ride on rutted dirt jeep trails. The Green Sand Beach is at the southern tip of the Big Island. It was otherworldly. The beach was inside an ancient volcanic cone with one side missing, through which the waters of the Pacific entered and washed the beach. The sand was green as was much of this three-sided volcanic cone. We enjoyed taking it all in. On Friday we would have to leave and prepare for our trek.
Image, "Green Sand Beach" by Phil Hollman. Use with permission. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic